The present invention relates to structure for detachably attaching a wheel house cover to a vehicle body, and more particularly, to an attaching structure for a wheel house cover, wherein the wheel house cover is easy to attach and detach, the formation of rust on a vehicle body side can be reduced and the vehicle body has a good appearance.
To improve aerodynamics of a vehicle, a wheel house cover to cover a wheel house of a vehicle body is adapted. In this case, since the wheel house cover is an obstacle when passing through a car wash and during the changing of a tire, the wheel house cover is detachably attached to the vehicle. Among structures to attach a wheel house cover to a vehicle body detachably, a structure described in JP-U-62-141581 or other various structure is adapted. In FIG. 11, the conventional art is shown. On a top of a reverse side of a wheel house cover A, an engagement hook B, which is protruded from a top edge thereof, is placed and formed side-by-side on three points. On a lower part of the reverse side of the wheel house cover A, a clip receive hole C is placed and formed side-by-side on two points. On a body panel D of a vehicle, an engagement hole E into which each engagement hook B is inserted is formed side-by-side on three points and a lined pair of clips F to be inserted into the clip receive hole C is placed.
In the conventional art shown in FIG. 11, each engagement hook B on the side of the wheel house cover A is aligned with the engagement hole E on the side of the body panel D and inserted diagonally in an upward direction. The lower part of the wheel house cover A is pushed to the side of the body panel D and turned. This state is held and the clip F is engaged with the clip receive hole C of the wheel house cover A, therefore, the wheel house cover A is attached to the body panel D.
In the above-described conventional art, when the wheel house cover A is attached to the vehicle body after a car wash or a changing of a tire, the engagement hooks B, B need to be inserted into the corresponding engagement holes E, E on the side of the body panel D diagonally in an upward direction. The engagement hook B is protruded from a top edge of the wheel house cover A. The lower part of the wheel house cover A needs to be pushed to the side of the body panel D and turned. In this state, the clip F needs to be engaged with the clip receive hole C at the reverse side of the wheel house cover A. Therefore, in the conventional art, the attachment process of the wheel house cover A is a troublesome task. Each engagement hole E is formed on the side of the body panel D, therefore, rainwater remains in the vicinity of each engagement hole E and rust often forms. When the wheel house cover A is attached, a part of each engagement hook B as a functional part is exposed in a uniform clearance between the top edge of the wheel house cover A and the body panel D. Therefore, the appearance in the vicinity of the wheel house cover A is spoiled.
An object of the present invention is to provide an attaching structure for a wheel house cover, wherein the wheel house cover is easy to attach and detach from the vehicle body, the formation of rust on a vehicle body side can be reduced, and the vehicle body has a good appearance.
To solve the above-described problems, according to structure for detachably attaching a wheel house cover to a vehicle body of the present invention, said wheel house cover is provided along the reverse side of its peripheral edge with engagement parts having upwardly opened engagement holes or engagement concaves and in the vicinity of its lower part with an insertion hole for a tightening member at a front and a rear of the peripheral edge. The vehicle body is provided with locking parts relatively and downwardly inserted into the corresponding engagement holes or engagement concaves so as to lock said engagement parts, and further with receiving parts for receiving said tightening member to be inserted into said insertion holes of said wheel house cover.
According to the structure of the present invention, the engagement parts of the wheel house cover are placed on a lower part of the locking part on the vehicle body. In this state, the wheel house cover is pushed and controlled upwardly and relatively with respect to the vehicle body. The locking parts on the vehicle body side approach downwardly and relatively with respect to the engagement holes or engagement concaves of the engagement parts on the wheel house cover, and in this state, the engagement part is locked. The tightening member receives the receiving part at the vehicle body through the insertion hole from the outside of the wheel house cover, therefore, the wheel house cover can be detachably attached to a vehicle body. In this way, according to the structure of the present invention, for attaching the wheel house cover, it is only needed to push and control the wheel house cover in one direction with respect to the vehicle body and to tighten the wheel house cover from the outside thereof. Therefore, it is easy to attach the wheel house cover to the vehicle body.
According to the structure of the present invention, said vehicle body is provided with a pair of support parts, which projects from said vehicle body for placing at least two front and rear engagement parts of said wheel house cover, and the pair of support parts is placed at vertical positions where said engagement parts of said wheel house cover are temporarily positioned directly below said locking parts of said vehicle body. According to the structure, the two front and rear engagement parts of the wheel house cover are placed on the pair of support parts of the vehicle body and the engagement parts of the wheel house cover are temporarily positioned directly below the locking part of the vehicle body. Therefore, it is easy to attach and detach the wheel house cover.
According to the structure of the present invention, locking members in the shape of a downwardly projecting hook are fixed to said vehicle body, and said locking parts of said vehicle body are formed by said hooks of said locking members. According to the structure, in a state in which the wheel house cover is attached, the hook of the locking member at the vehicle body projects downwardly and is hidden behind a reverse side of the wheel house cover. Therefore, the vehicle body can have a good appearance.
According to the structure of the present invention, each of said insertion holes is formed at a front and a rear foot parts, each projecting from said wheel house cover, and said foot parts are placed at blind spots of a lower edge part of said wheel house cover. According to the structure, in a state in which the wheel house cover is attached, the foot part and the tightening member are placed at the blind spots of the lower edge part at the wheel house cover. Therefore, the vehicle body can have a good appearance.
According to the structure of the present invention, said tightening member is a stud fastener, and said receiving part of said vehicle body is formed by a nut member fixed to said vehicle body, and further said nut member has a guide plate which guides the front end of said stud fastener toward a nut part. According to the structure, when the wheel house cover is moved upwardly with respect to the vehicle body and attached to the vehicle body, the guide plate of the nut member guides the front end of the stud fastener toward the nut part. Therefore, it is easy to receive the stud fastener.